Tuesday, July 26, 2016

An overdue garden visit, on a sunny afternoon...

I've been trying to make the huge 7 block trek to this garden for years now...but it finally happened. What took me so long? My most recent near-miss was a private party where the owners of Far Reaches Farm were speaking and selling their amazing plants. That was last spring, March I think. I got sick, very sick, and stayed home...bummer. Still, finally seeing the garden on a gorgeous sunny afternoon did kind of make up for all the lost opportunities...

Does this chair look familiar? The garden owner/designer Suzinn Weiss had just picked up a couple and when I remarked on their good looks and comfort she clued me in to where I could pick up a pair for my own garden. Thank you Suzinn!

There was so much to see and I had to find the sweet spot between enjoying Suzinn's company and personally experiencing the garden vs. photographing it for a blog post. This is something I wrestle with! I've sort of come up with a compromise — if it's an open garden on a tour, or through the HPSO, then it's all about looking and taking photos. Whereas if it's a visit to the garden of a friend or new acquaintance I try to keep the camera tucked away, to be there as a person not a "journalist"...of course the rules do get broken. Hence the fact I was taking photos on this visit...

The back of the garage has been converted to a studio. I love this idea!

Peony?

A fountain for the birds.

But also quite sculptural.

The deep colors of the Hydrangeas seem extra magnificent this year.

Metapanax delavayi

At its base a happy Fuchsia.

Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress'

And there were lilies, beautiful, fragrant lilies...

And these guys too. Suzinn grows them well.

Trochodendron aralioides

Trochodendron aralioides and Schefflera delavayi

Schefflera delavayi

I wish I could remember the name of this ground-cover. It smelled terrific.

Pathway made of salvaged stone, turned on it's rough side.

The house has one of those huge front porches dreams are made of...

Complete with a fabulous paint job and space to relax!

I had to leave in a bit of a rush (dog duties) but had every intention of returning to photograph the intensely planted hellstrip before posting on this garden. That was 3 weeks ago. I realized I'd better just post these inspiring photos now and hope to be invited back in the future. Thank you Suzinn!

These ARE inspiring photos! I ran out after seeing the painted porch to try to envision what my concrete front porch would look like with some kind of paint treatment. But it spends the entire summer covered with all the plants that overwinter in the greenhouse, so maybe not. But the back covered porch, which is wooden, now maybe there....hmmmm.....thinking, thinking....

The porch is to die for and she's got a lot of groovy plants! Looks like a peaceful place to be. I was thinking the same thing about hydrangea blooms being more intense this year. There's a garage in the danger garden that could be converted to a studio/greenhouse, no? After you take pictures of her hellstrip of course.

Great garden which is not surprising given the creative porch floor. Yes, Peony seedpods. Looks like leaves of a nearby plant are causing some visual confusion. Geraniums are that unknown groundcover; macrorrhizum or cantabrigiense I'd guess.

See Peony ID above, if you're interested. Here's what Suzinn has to say about the groundcover: "The hardy geranium ground-cover was given to me over 20 years ago as a few small starts. I never knew the exact variety but it looks similar to Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'. The evergreen leaves have a clean pine scent all year long."

So many exotic and wonderfull plants, expecially from the Aralia family! The Metapanax delavayi in this garden has done what mine has, producing three leaflet leaves as it ages. Also the leaflet edges curl in-ward in a mature plant. A concerning shape for a gardener since in other plants like strawberries, it is a sign of, lack of enough, water stress. The picture of a wild plant that Dan Hinkley has in his book "Shrubs and Vines" show this condition. John(Aberdeen)